sekolah tinggi

Indonesian

Etymology

Compound of sekolah (“school”) +‎ tinggi (“high”), calque of Dutch hogeschool (“hogeschool, polytechnic, college”, literally “high school”). Semantic loan from Japanese 大學(だいがく) (daigaku, “university; college”) for sense of university during Japanese occupation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [səˈkolah ˈtɪŋɡi]

Noun

sêkolah tinggi

1. (education) hogeschool, college: mono-disciplinary higher education institution; a higher education institution of lower rank than a university

   Coordinate terms: akademi, akademi komunitas, institut, politeknik, universitas

2. (education, dated) university

   Synonym: universitas

   Sekolah Tinggi Oxford ― Oxford University

   sekolah tinggi keradjaan ― imperial university

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore usage can be seen in Malay sekolah tinggi.

Further reading

• “sekolah tinggi”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Malay

Etymology 1

Compound of sekolah (“school”) +‎ tinggi (“high”), calque of English high school.

Noun

sekolah tinggi (Jawi spelling سکوله تيڠݢي, uncountable)

1. (education, Malaysia, Singapore) high school, secondary school: an institution which provides all or part of secondary education.

   Sekolah Tinggi Persendirian Cina ― Chinese Independent High School

   Sekolah Tinggi Pemerintah Bukit Panjang ― Bukit Panjang Government High School

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Indonesian usage can be seen in Indonesian sekolah tinggi.

Synonyms

• sekolah menengah atas (Indonesia incl. Riau and Sumatra)

Etymology 2

Compound of sekolah (“school”) +‎ tinggi (“high”), borrowed from Indonesian sekolah tinggi.

Noun

sekolah tinggi (Jawi spelling سکوله تيڠݢي, uncountable)

1. (education, Indonesia) see Indonesian sekolah tinggi (“hogeschool, college”).